PORTLAND ”“ The Portland Pirates will have a new NHL parent.
Heard that one before?
You bet you have.
After three successful seasons as the top farm club of the Buffalo Sabres, the Pirates will have a new big league partner come Monday.
According to published reports, that partner will be the Phoenix Coyotes, who have been affiliated with the San Antonio Rampage for the past six seasons.
Portland Pirates CEO and Managing Owner Brian Petrovek, in a Civic Center press conference, Friday, declined to confirm reports of the new hookup, saying “Good for them,” he said. “(But) until it comes from my mouth, there is no truth to any rumor or speculation (as) to who our new partner is. That’s for Monday afternoon.”
The switch, which will leave Portland with its fourth NHL parent in the last eight years, came about when Buffalo, at the initiative of new owner Terry Pegula, purchased the Rochester Americans, a transaction that was approved by the AHL, Friday.
The Sabres and Amerks were partners for 29 seasons until three years ago, when Buffalo hooked up with the Pirates.
“This next chapter will be one that I see being different from the ones that have come before,” said Petrovek. “It will be long term. It will have stability. I have absolutely no concerns about this relationship being unstable, or volatile, or toxic in any way shape or form. Nobody put a gun to our head. This is a decision that we made. And we feel that we’re going to be a better business, a better franchise, a better product on the ice and in the community.”
Petrovek said he spoke with four potential suitors, a group believed to include Phoenix, Tampa Bay, and Florida. That group was whittled down to two (believed to be Florida and Phoenix), before Petrovek and his new parent came to an agreement.
“I thought this was going to go in a different direction with ‘Team A’,” he said, “ as it was getting to the finish line. It actually ended up being with ‘Team B’, which became ‘Team A’. I knew going into this thing, that we were in the best possible place we’ve ever been.”
Whomever the new partner is, it will be moving its farm operation into the aging Cumberland County Civic Center, which opened in 1977.
The Civic Center is in line for badly needed upgrades, and will get them if County voters approve a $28 million bond issue in November.
However, Petrovek said that more enticing to his new partner was the Pirates plan to establish a year round training and practice facility at MHG Ice Centre in Saco.
“We spent a lot of time throughout this process,” said Petrovek, “educating teams on our plans in Saco. I think we have a story to tell that’s really solid.”
Petrovek said that the plans for the Saco facility proved to be a real attention getter in his meetings with prospective NHL partners.
“Oohs and aahs,” was how Petrovek charaterized the responses. “The facility itself. The amenities. The environment. Our medical partners being there. The ability to use it on a year round basis was very attractive.”
Petrovek said its possible that his new big league affiliate will want to use MHG as its own Training Camp site in coming years.
“They might think,” he said, “’my NHL players can be here on a year round basis’. Absolutely. That’s something we’re offering our affiliate moving forward. That is very attractive. There are not many American Hockey League cities that can offer that.”
Petrovek said he had no ill feeling toward Buffalo, whom he released from a player development contract that had three years left to go.
“When we went through the process of determining who could replace Buffalo,” he said, “the bar had been raised. And the last thing we’re going to do, or our new partner is going to do, is to let our fans down. They’re going to come in here and take it where Buffalo left off.”
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